Friday, January 28, 2011

Chinese New Year is next week. A whole week of vacation awaits me. Don't be surprised if I don't answer your e-mails. I will be back on February 8. In the meantime, I'll travel to Southern Taiwan to enjoy my teas in a warmer climate.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

1. (Left): a small ivory color porcelain jar made in Yingge (Taiwan) with industrial methods. The foil was kept below the lid. I filled the jar to the top and then vacuum sealed the jar in a plastic foil (similar to the one in the middle). Storage time: 15 months.

2. (Medium): Vacuum sealed plastic foil of 300 gr. Storage time: Since April 2009, when it was made.

There is a big difference between 1 and 2. The tea from the bag (2) still smells and tastes very similar to when I've got it. The roasting may have dissipated a little, but it has a nice freshness to it. In the ivory jar (1), the tea smells stronger and more oxidized, as I had noticed here. However, this strength is kind of crude and not very natural. The freshness seems replaced by more sour notes. This also translates into the taste, which is rougher, less smooth than (2).

The traditional jar (3), on the other hand, has a smell that is much closer to (2). This is normal, since the tea spent less time in it. However, I feel from the scent and taste that in this jar, the leaves are taking a different evolution than in (1). The tea smells finer and the taste is more elegant, smoother, while the freshness is preserved. This is proper aging.

This experiment explains why I have removed the ivory porcelain jars from my selection. They are bad fits for long term storage. I recommend to only use them for short storage periods. The qinghua jar isn't available, though, but I continue to work with several potters to achieve good Oolong jars. I believe that it's necessary to use more natural materials so that the jar won't emit bad, unnatural smells.

How can you tell if your jar is good or not for storage? A faster way may be to check what the cleaned and empty jar smells like. Does it smell bad, plastic, weird or clean and fresh?

Friday, January 21, 2011

This tea comes from a similar abandoned plantation in the same region of Feng Huang, which is part of the Dong Ding area in Central Taiwan. Up to the early 1990s, the best Taiwan Oolongs used to come from there. But consumer demand shifted to High Mountain Oolong coming from higher and higher altitudes. Prices would be two to four times more expensive for teas coming from a higher plantation. The work in the field is the same, and these Gao Shan (High Mountain) teas don't even need to be roasted. This explains why farmers abandoned some lower altitude plantations as they created new ones in the mountains.

In the last years, though, there is a new interest for organic, and more natural teas. So, farmers start to harvest again plantations that they had abandoned. However, now they don't view insect bites as reducing their yields, but as quality improvements like for Oriental Beauty.

These luanze (qingxin) Oolong leaves were handpicked in mid November 2010.

The leaves are a little darker and redder than this Hung Shui Oolong from the same area. A slightly stronger oxidation and tea jassid bites are the major difference between these 2 teas. Therefore, the brew looks more orange than golden. But it looks just as clear and transparent!

The flavors are more fruity and honey like. When the boiling water is poured fast, the roasting aromas appear almost like in a Yan Cha. In the later brews, the fragrances become lighter and fresher.

The most amazing about this tea is its long and sweet aftertaste. It's strong but balanced. It's pure but complex. And it feels natural and complete. (And I could go on and on raving about it... It lasted over half an hour!)

Tea can be so simple. The power of Hung Shui Oolong meets the natural Beauty of Concubine Oolong. And these leaves are barely rested from their roasting! I can't even start to imagine how they will evolve with some patient aging... (But I will put some aside to find out!)

(Pussy willow catkins for my Cha Xi.It's a popular Lunar New Year ornament!)

The winter version is on the left and the spring version on the right.Both cups show good clarity and few particles. The darker colour of the winter brew shows a little bit more concentration and roast.The darker winter leaves come from a higher Zhu Shan plantation than this spring. The dry leaves look a little bit smaller because the stems have been removed. This has made the tea a little bit more fragrant, but, being a winter Oolong, this fragrance is less than in the flowery spring. It's more a sweet honey, fruity and very natural kind of scent.

However, what makes its winter character stand out is its mild and mellow 'honey' taste. It has a nice light balance between sweetness and freshness.

It's actually easy to brew. Very few defects appeared despite the long infusion time. And it has more durability than the spring version.

The spring leaves are lighter and a more yellow in color.

The scent is stronger, but the taste is lighter. There is some fruity sourness when the brew becomes cold.

These 2 Oolongs are at the middle of the road between fresh, unroasted Oolongs and Hung Shui Oolongs. Handpicked from small plantations in the natural setting of Zhu Shan, they are a good value for beginners and everyday Oolong drinkers.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

On a cold winter day, I like the warmth and sweetness of my winter Feng Huang Hung Shui Oolong. Unfortunately, despite the beauty of my Cha Xi and suitable teaware (Qing dynasty qinghua cups, my zhuni teapot and a Japanese tetsubin), I fail to get the best out of my tea. If the problem is not the tea (which tasted delicious before) and not the teaware, then it's the brewing.

How did I brew? I did preheat the teapot. I was careful to first pour some boiling water on the outside before filling the teapot. On a cold day like this, a big change in temperature could cause a zhuni teapot to crack. I put the tetsubin on my empty Nilu (no time for charcoal heating today). Then, I preheated the cups by emptying the zhuni teapot's water. I put one layer of dry leaves on the bottom of the teapot. And, I poured the water from the tetsubin slowly on the leaves (as I advised here at the end of the post). The brewing lasted approximately a minute.

How do I know there's a problem? The tea didn't taste fully concentrated and harmonious. There is some weakness and the flavors don't seem to bind well. Visually, the leaves have failed to open up well and are siding close to the mouth of the pot.

Rolled Oolong has to open up after its first brew. So, the problem is that with my slow pour, the leaves didn't get enough energy to open up. When the weather is warm, I have no problem with pouring slowly. But, with today's low temperatures, the tetsubin must have lost a degree or two while I was preheating the teapot and teacups. And water also cools faster in the teapot with a slow pour than with a fast one.

The solution is to reheat the tetsubin, to pour with a little more strength and speed, and to let the tea brew a little longer. With these small adjustments, I can again taste the fine full body of my Hung Shui Oolong during these winter days.

I wasn't the only one to feel cold. The tea leaves also felt cold and needed more heat to give their best!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Last November, I had the chance to meet Scott Chamberlin Hoyt during his short trip to Taiwan. He is the director of the documentary 'The Meaning of Tea'. There are some similarities with France 5's 'Thé pour tous' documentary, as it also explores what tea means today in different parts of the world. There is a nice section about Taiwan. The movie is beautifully shot.

While a documentary, it's not really a film to teach us about how tea is made or how it should be prepared. It's more an inspirational quest about tea. It shows how tea has not a singular meaning, but many meanings depending where and who you ask. Love and happiness of the leaf is what binds so many people together.

Together with Scott Hoyt, I also met Jason Walker for the first time. We tasted several of my teas. Scott gave me this DVD and I gave them some samples. Jason is very thorough and displayed good tasting skills. His video tastings lack the poetry we find in Scott's documentary, but are a great resource if you want the opinion of a skilled tea taster for a particular tea. I found what he had to say about my 'Spring 2010 Hung Shui Oolong from Shan Lin Shi' very interesting.

We were 3 people sharing and drinking tea that day. Our approaches varied, but we were nonetheless bound by the love of a good cup of tea!